Woman’s body found at park

LONG BEACH – Police on Tuesday found the body of a transient woman at 14th Street Park.

Units were called to 14th Street and Pacific Avenue at 1:21 p.m. when the woman’s body was discovered, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski.

Paramedics were called in, and they pronounced the woman dead. There seemed to be no evidence of foul play, Zapalski said.

No other details were available Tuesday evening.

– Samantha Gonzaga

L.B. crematory to help coroner

Hoping to prevent a backlog at the coroner’s office, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with a Long Beach crematory today to give the office and County-USC Medical Center some help in disposing of bodies.

The $130,000 annual contract with Southland Crematory provides “as-needed” cremation services for the Department of Coroner and USC Medical Center should there be a backlog of bodies at either county facility.

Judy Hammond, public information officer for the county, said the contract is a precautionary measure taken in response to a spike in the number of bodies at the coroner’s office in summer 2006.

“We’re glad we have this backup system in place,” said Ed Winter, captain of investigations for the Department of Coroner.

“Should we need it, we’ll be able to use private crematory services,” he said.

In the summer of 2006, the department had a backlog of 142 bodies and averaged about 300 new bodies a week.

Officials said spikes are normal in the summer, during holidays and in January, but they called the 2006 summer increase unusually high and pointed to the heat as a possible cause.

This summer, the department is averaging about 200 bodies a week, Winter said.

– City News Service

Doctor’s fraud trial begins

A Los Angeles jury began deliberating Tuesday in the trial of a surgeon who is accused of performing unnecessary “sweaty palm surgeries” on patients in an attempt to defraud health insurance companies.

Dr. William Wilson Hampton, 52, of Seal Beach, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 11 counts of health care fraud.

Hampton is accused of performing unnecessary surgeries on patients falsely claiming to suffer from maladies such as overly sweaty palms at the Bel Air Surgical Institute and other surgery centers in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

As part of the “rent-a-patient” schemes, Hampton fraudulently billed private insurance programs for the unnecessary surgeries, prosecutors claim.

Prosecutors allege that Hampton billed millions of dollars from insurance companies from performing more than 400 such sweaty palm surgeries.

The patients were recruited for the procedures by people who worked under marketers who were then paid by the surgery centers to recruit patients, prosecutors allege. In return the patients received money or other benefits, prosecutors said.

Patients were paid up to $300 for colonoscopies and up to $1,200 for sweaty palm surgeries, prosecutors claim.

Another physician, Dr. Mamdouh Bahna pleaded guilty on July 12 to participating in the alleged schemes. He is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court next month.

– City News Service

Charges filed in woman’s death

A man accused of sexually assaulting and fatally beating a 76-year-old great-grandmother, who was targeted while out for her morning walk in Gardena last month, was charged Tuesday with capital murder.

Thedward Candler, 24, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Torrance Superior Court in connection with the Sept. 18 killing of Severa Madrona, who had 29 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The criminal complaint alleges the special circumstances of murder during rape and sodomy.

The victim’s body was found dumped in the backyard of a home at 152nd Street and Eriel Avenue. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten, and she died of a blunt force head wound, according to Deputy District Attorney Michael Gargiulo.

Candler, who allegedly has prior convictions for attempted robbery in 2000 and assault in 2001, was arrested Oct. 25 by sheriff’s homicide investigators and is jailed without bail.

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